It always provokes a bit of a negative response to walk full-face into a sticky spiderweb stretching invisibly across some shadowy corner of the garden. Doing some weekend gardening to get in the mood to write “Garden Notes,” I got webbed, à la Spidey. It is good to remember it is a privilege to host industrious orb-weavers in the garden.
Butterflies and spiders dominate late summer gardens. Meadowsong, the trilling of untold numbers of insects, provides the background motif to late summer days and nights, in the garden, and into the woods and fields of the outdoor world beyond. It is good to remember, when caterpillar damage seems unacceptable, “no caterpillars, no butterflies.”
They seem to be hurrying to make their futures, or those of their progeny, secure. They know the signs of the season. We do likewise, with preparing, harvesting, and securing what our gardens have produced. Even now a September cutting of hay is being put away, made possible by prior rains, good weather currently, and low humidity. It is good to remember, when feeling miffed by summer rains, that this bonus cut does not occur every year.
Reworking gardens
With moderating temperatures and plentiful rain, it seems easier, with less risk, to move plants around. Some are in need of division, and some are those simply in need of better placement.
This is the traditional time to divide peonies and bearded iris. And who doesn’t have clumps of vigorous Siberian iris — so well adapted to Island conditions — that have thrived themselves into splayed circles with empty centers?
‘Cutting back’ is usually intended as insurance to balance out the loss of roots that may occur when plants are dug up. It is ideal to produce a garden bed that is so easy to dig in that loss of roots and the effort of shifting plants around are much less. Soft and deep soils are the goals, making beds that are comfy for plants! Then, just dig, divide, and plop them back in.
Addition of organic matter is the sure-fire way to create that soil. Use the best stuff you can get your hands on. Organic composts, mulches, and top-dressing that eventually become incorporated into soil are the materials. Mulches, in my opinion, do not remain on the bed surface, like an inert, cosmetic blanket, but should be continuously cultivated in.
Peony divisions have long, deep roots, and need deep planting holes. The eyes, however, should be at a level 1.5 to 2 inches below the surface. Too shallow or too deep is the cause of many peonies’ failure to bloom. Soft and deep soils make the digging far easier.
Congested clumps of bearded iris also lose flower power, and may attract borers and other problems. I used to cite the outdated advice about “top of the soil” for rhizomes, with roots trenched either side, deeply. The iris experts now say it no longer matters. However, if drainage is an issue, it still seems like good advice. Visualize irises growing and blooming with wild abandon on sunbaked Tuscan roadside embankments as a good image when siting bearded iris.
Phlox (Phlox paniculata), the queen of late summer gardens, benefits from deadheading and frequent division. When performance of phlox slumps, it is time to lift and divide it. Full sun, and fertile soil that is moisture-retentive but neither wet nor dry, are the main requirements.
Dahlia advice
Amid an array of stocky lavender dahlias stands a salmon five-footer. How did that happen? If you do not tag the plants when they are in bloom, this is a likely outcome. I planted a ‘Pam Howden’ into what was supposed to be a row of ‘Crème de Cassis.’ Happily, there is no such thing as an ugly, bad dahlia, so, no big deal.
Cut-flower advice paraphrased from the Swan Island Dahlias catalog for extending vase life: Cut in the cool of the morning. Place cut stems in two to three inches of very hot water, approximately 160° to 180°, and allow them to remain in the water until it has cooled, about one hour (protect blooms from the steam). This sets blooms, and makes flowers last for four to six days. Removing old blooms keeps plants strong and blooming until late in the season. The more you cut, the more they bloom.
In the garden
It has been a funny growing year. Less-than-ideal light levels here probably compounded this in our own vegetable garden. Red ‘Heritage’ raspberries are only now coming on, with no July fruit. I could not grow green pole beans or beets; they simply would not ‘do.’ Saving the day are the beautiful Mermaid Blue Pod pole beans from Mermaid Farm, and now thankfully, bush ‘Romano’ seem to be coming along normally.
Tomatoes and cucumbers were prolific, but the tomatoes seem somewhat tasteless. Cocktail-size Mountain Magic must be picked when just coloring, and brought inside to ripen on the bench, due to chipmunks. It is also probably chipmunks that are gnawing tentatively on the young winter squash as it grows on the vines. More animal repellent!
The amelanchier (shadbush) here are rust-defoliated, while our native hawthorn is still green, with reddening fruits, and looking unusually good for this time of year. Roses were skimpy in rebloom, after a splendid spring start. Trim lavenders.
A defoliating pathogen, which could be one of several, including powdery mildew, is afflicting lilacs around the Island. The experts say these conditions are not fatal, just, like fall webworm, unsightly. However, thinning congested lilac colonies over the coming winter is probably a good move. Many shade trees have also been shedding leaves since July’s heat wave.
